Greater Helsinki named one of world’s 25 best ecosystems for cleantech startups

Greater Helsinki has developed an ecosystem that nurtures innovation, as evidenced by the number and value of inbound early-stage investments, and demonstrated its ability to scale up and recycle the funds back into the ecosystem, according to Farshad Fahimi, director of data strategy at Startup Genome.

“Helsinki is doing well especially in startup experience, which includes for example longer-term early-stage funding, showing a 10-year trend,” he said.

The region was assessed a score of 3 out of 10 for performance, 5 out of 10 for funding, 6 out of 10 for startup experience, 4 out of 10 for both knowledge and talent, and 9 out of 10 for focus, adding up to an average of 5.2. The top five startup ecosystems for cleantech were Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, Stockholm, London and Los Angeles.

Europe and North America accounted for 21 of the top 25 ecosystems.

Startup Genome defines its report as a deep dive into the globally competitive landscape of technology-oriented startups focused on reducing environmental impact and solving the scale-up gap with solutions related to, for example, energy, logistics and transport.

The City of Helsinki acknowledged in a press release that the cleantech ecosystem is critical for its ambition to become carbon neutral by 2030. The city has sought to foster the growth of the ecosystem as an enabler of co-operation and experimentation and provider of tailor-made support services.

Urban Tech Helsinki, for example, is a city-run incubator focusing specifically on cleantech companies.

“Major global challenges are directly linked to the companies and residents’ ability to cope. Helsinki wants to be at the forefront in meeting these challenges, which makes it only natural that we support companies that seek smart and clean solutions,” said Tommo Koivusalo, head of unit at the City of Helsinki.